Hanyou Village: The Special Place
by ronko45
Summary: Rikuo visits Hanyou Village, and a few others tag along as well. This really is a sucky summary... Small Rikuo x Yura...


My (technically) first Nurarihyon story, and I have been itching, since I saw the chapters, to write something about Hanyou Village. It seemed a place Rikuo'd take Yura, so yeah. Just read please… I don't have much else to share up here…

Disclaimer: I do not own Nurarihyon no Mago.

Hanyou Village: The Special Place

-X-

Rikuo stood in front of his group of friends and spoke to them about a trip that he was going to take. He hadn't told them exactly where he was going, because he had wanted to go alone, relatively… "You guys are welcome to stay as long as you want, but I have to go."

"Where are you going Rikuo?" asked Kana.

"I'm sorry, but I am not going to say."

Tsurara walked into the room, seeing Rikuo surrounded by his friends. "Young Master, did you tell them that we are going to Hanyou Village tomorrow?" The friends gasped, and Rikuo shot her a disbelieving look. Tsurara hid behind her sleeves as she brought them to her face. "I'm sorry…"

"So you are going to this village huh? Alright, we won't follow you," said Kiyotsugu. All went quiet and all eyes went on him.

"What?" said Maki.

"Is Kiyotsugu giving up?" finished Torii. Rikuo even looked at his friend, not liking where this was going.

"Kiyotsugu, what are you up too," he thought as he said his goodbyes. As Rikuo went out of the room, Tsurara following, he saw his mother walking towards him.

"Oh are you going to pack?" Rikuo nodded. "Here is the map to Hanyou Village, and learn something okay?" Now Rikuo was regarding his mother suspiciously. Something was brewing in the Nura household.

Wakana walked into the room, regarding the friends with a smile. They had been talking about their leader's yield to Rikuo. "Hey you guys." They looked at her, quieting. "I wanted to ask if you were going to follow Rikuo. I just happened to know that you guys have a mind of your own so…"

"Oh no," answered Kiyotsugu, "we aren't going to follow Rikuo."

"Oh, okay. Well, here's a map in case you change your mind."

"Why are you giving us a map?"

"Oh, I just have a feeling I'd be intruding if I went with you guys." Wakana went out of the room, running to the other side of the house to finish her plan.

Rikuo had finally been able to be alone, so he decided to watch the moon, on the Sakura tree in the backyard. He couldn't stop thinking about the village his mom had told him about. It was a village that housed both humans and yokai, and the way his mother had explained everything to him, he couldn't wait to see it. He had asked if they were happy, living amongst each other like that, and she had answered with a bright smile. "They must be; they are connected by love."

The yokai watched the moon, aware of the girl that had sat next to him. She had said nothing all this time, waiting for him to acknowledge her. "Yura, weren't you going to leave tonight?" Yura had stayed behind a few more days to be with her friends, and she had already made her decision to leave this night.

"I was going to, but for some reason your mother wanted me to stay for a bit longer."

"I see." He looked back up at the moon again. "I'm going to visit a village, one where humans and yokai live together."

"Such a place exists?" asked Yura skeptically. She was sure Rikuo was the only one with the mindset that humans and yokai could live together.

"Yes, and it was a place that both my mother and father wanted me to see. Months after my mom told me, I am finally able to go."

"That's good. I hope you learn something new from their co-existing." Yura jumped off the tree having finished her conversation with the yokai.

"Hey Yura," said Rikuo looking at her straight in her eye, "you should come with me."

"Why would I do that?" she said hiding the shock in her voice terribly.

"I just figured you whould want to see for yourself. You've only just believed that yokai are able to be good, so…"

"I don't need to learn things when I'm with you Rikuo. I can learn them myself…" Rikuo smiled at the onmyouji as she walked away, looking at the moon once again.

The next morning, Kurotabou was bombarded by Wakana. He had just gotten up, heading to say his goodbye to the young master when she asked him for a favor. "Will you escort Rikuo to the village please?" He wasn't usually tongue-tied, but he had been silenced by the woman as she pushed him to Rikuo's party. "Rikuo, please allow Kurotabou to go with you, and," she looked over at the corner to see Yura walking toward them shyly. "It seems like you have another accompanying you."

Rikuo smiled at Yura. "So you decided to accept my offer?"

"Offer, I thought you said you wanted to go alone?" asked Yuuki-onna.

"Yeah, but she should see this as well. Anyways, Kuro can come okay? Now can we be off?" The group walked ahead, leaving the mansion behind as they walked to the Hanyou Village. A few minutes later, leading the pack of school children to the gates, Kiyotsugu soon trailed behind Rikuo. "I thought you weren't going to follow him," teased Wakana.

"We're not," he replied, "we are going our own way!"

-O-

Darkness had just begun to take over the day as the group headed into the village known as the Hanyou Village. Usually by this time, in both Kyoto and Ukiyoe, people wouldn't walk around if it just turned dark; here, everything, and everyone, was still so lively. Rikuo stepped into the village scoping out the various beings that walked around not at all phased by his or his group's appearance.

The group on the other hand was very surprised by the sight. Never had they seen it before, or think that it could exist. Rikuo spoke as he continued to look upon the smiling beings. "This is what I aim for, a place where both yokai and humans may live together." He split off from the group, grabbing Yura's hand and dragging her deeper into the village. "I'll call you guys when we are leaving."

Tsurara had her mouth open wide, not able to believe that Rikuo had taken the onmyouji girl instead of her. Behind her, Kuro was nowhere to be found, so with a sigh, the yokai went her own way, discovering the joys of being in a place where demons no longer needed to hide from humans.

The moment the Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol made it to the village that was marked with a giant X on the map, they had split up. Kiyotsugu had told his friends that he needed to find something and with that he left them. "I guess this is the only day that we can enjoy our outing. Anybody up for…" Maki turned around and found that Kana had already gone, and Shima and Torii were deep in thought.

"I'm sorry, but I have to look for Oikawa," Shima said.

"And I have a demon to thank. I'll see you later Maki," Torii yelled back to her friend as she ran to wherever she thought Kurotabou would be.

Tsurara sat outside of a shop, sitting under the air conditioning, sulking at the reality that she had just come to terms with. Rikuo had pulled Yura over with him, not her, and that only saddened her more. She sighed and looked at out into the bright street, lights illuminating everything, lovers walking amongst each other, holding hands… if only she was here with her young master.

Tsurara was about to go someplace else, but she saw Shima. If she could've, she would've avoided him, but he had waved. She stayed put as the boy walked up to her and sat down at her table.

The AC was in full blast and the cold wind it brought to him had brought shivers down his spine. Shima watched the Yuuki-onna, noticing she was having a problem. He asked her about it, and even behind her fake smile, he knew she was sad. "I didn't see Rikuo around?" She looked away and said nothing. With the silence still holding on, Shima made a move. "Waiter, can I get two shaved ices?" The waiter nodded at him, and Tsurara simply stared. The shaved ices were placed in front of the both of them before Shima spoke again. "Oikawa if you ever need to talk, just know…" His face had turned red, and he was trying to look away from Tsurara's eyes. "I'll always be there for you… So eat up, you're ice is getting warm." He picked up the lemon snow and ate it even though he was freezing under the air.

Tsurara smiled at the boy. "Thanks Shima," she whispered under her breath as she too enjoyed the company she was granted.

-O-

Kurotabou walked along the darker path of the village. The majority of the streets all had lights strung about, lighting the way for the humans that had a hard time seeing in the dark compared to their night companions. Kuro continued walking, ending at a dock that sat above a river. He sat down, enjoying the silence and the serenity of the night when he heard the human step out from behind a boat. He had sensed her a while ago, but figured she'd leave when he got too far, but she didn't. Kuro waited silently until the human girl was next to him. "What is it?"

Now that Torii had made it to the yokai, she really had nothing to say. She had grown some type of connection to this demon probably because of how many times he's saved her, but that should be enough, right? Didn't Mary Jane like Spiderman in the same parameters? Torii sat down next to him, saying nothing. She watched the dark waters wave back and forth peacefully; they were silent, like the two resting on the docks.

"I don't know why I came by here," she said, still entranced by the river.

"The river is said to be deadly at night because you can never see what goes on; it wears a black cloak, masking what lies underneath. It may be beautiful, but it is also dangerous."

Torii looked at Kuro and smiled. "The river also gives life to many. It may be mysterious, but a river is something that is needed in life, for life." She turned to the monk and smiled at him. "I guess I am still thanking you for all the times you saved me, and as well as the times you will continue to save me."

Kuro turned and dropped his hat over his head. "And what makes you think I'll continue to save you, other than when my master asks me too?"

"I don't know Kurotabou, but I am willing to say that I am safe whenever you are around." She continued to look out into the water. She couldn't stop smiling.

Kurotabou stood up and started to walk into the town, away from the water's edge. "Let's go, it's much too dark to let you walk about alone."

-O-

Kiyotsugu repeated the directions once again in his head. He was supposed to pass a large statue of a head, and then there would be giant tree on a hill. That's where he was going to find him. Kiyotsugu walked passed the large statue, and then finally, over in the distance, he saw a grandiose tree. He had run all the way to the tree, searching about it for one thing, and he found it: the gravestone.

The boy opened his backpack, and put his flowers and thank you card onto the grave. "Mr. Nura, I just want to personally thank you and your wife for protecting me that day. I know that if it wasn't for you I'd be dead, and because of that incident, I had never given up on finding yokai. I had always wanted to unearth them, for one reason or another, but the underlying reason was always to see if there were others, other yokai who were as nice as you and your wife.

"I know that you probably know this already, but Rikuo has grown into a great man. He has his own clan, and his own following… at such a young age. He keeps to his morals about humans clear, and that is why we came to this village. Mr. Nura, I may not be a yokai, but I have some of the greatest information on them. If anything, I have considered myself part of the Nurarihyon clan, and because of that, I will promise to help Rikuo whenever he needs it, all of us have. So with that, I say one last time. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for you and Yamabuki sensei, for saving me that day."

Kiyotsugu looked over at the moon and smiled. It had been years since the incident, and it was now that he was able to say his thanks. He walked back down the direction he came, running into Maki in the town where they had first entered. "Let's go look for some more yokai while we are here Maki!"

"You seem back to normal Kiyotsugu… what happened?" He looked at her and smiled. "You know we don't have to look for the yokai right, they are everywhere!" Maki yelled as she ran after him.

-O-

Kana had left the group soon after their leader left. She hadn't known exactly why, but she followed her instincts to a run-of-the-mill restaurant, where she saw Rikuo sitting alone. She hurried up to him, taking a seat. "Hello Rikuo, where are the others?"

Rikuo had no idea what to say, but he wasn't truly surprised; he should've expected this from Kiyotsugu. "Kana…" he started before seeing Yura walk out of the bathroom. She sat at the table, smiling to Kana and looking back at Rikuo.

"Did the food get here yet?" she asked. She hadn't felt at all intimidated by Kana, and to Rikuo that was good, but how was he to get Kana away? Kana looked between the two of them. It was when the food came, and the silence ensued, that she knew what was going on. Obviously Yura, preoccupied with her food, hadn't noticed that she and Rikuo were having dinner together, and that Kana was intruding. Kana blushed deeply, getting tears in her eyes before apologizing. Yura had only seen a brief exchange of words before seeing Kana run with tears in her eyes. She looked at Rikuo. He sighed, and got up, telling Yura he'd be right back.

Rikuo saw Kana outside the restaurant, sitting on a bench. He approached her and sat down. "I really don't know how to…"

"I get it Rikuo. Don't worry about me." She had sounded so sad, so different, that he wanted to help her, but she had pushed him away for yet a second time. When he got up to go to inside the restaurant, he heard Kiyotsugu and Maki.

"Hey Kana, what are you doing here?" Kana took a deep breath and put on her best smile as to not worry her friends.

"I'm fine. Where are you guys off to?"

"We are hunting visible yokai!" Maki yelled.

"Well, then we search for the ones hiding!" retaliated Kiyotsugu. They both laughed at him, and walked into the bright street, away from Rikuo.

"Did you fix what you started?" asked Yura, face full of food.

"That I did, so what do you think of this village."

Yura wiped her mouth and spoke to Rikuo. "It's completely beyond my imagination. I would've never thought… and to see it with my own eyes…"

Rikuo smiled. "Me too. It's amazing, but there is one more thing we must do before we leave." Rikuo stood from the table.

"Hey, yokai, aren't you going to pay?"

Rikuo looked at his companion. "It's in my nature to dine and dash," he said with a smirk, "let's go before we get caught!"

Yura grimaced and looked back. She saw in the distance, two burly looking yokai watching her and Rikuo. "I'll get you for this Rikuo…" she said as she dropped money onto the table.

Rikuo led the onmyouji through the streets, and to the patch of land where his father stood. "Hey Rikuo, is this your…"

"Yeah, my mom told me that he was buried here. I wanted to say goodbye to him again."

Yura backed away from Rikuo. "I shouldn't… you should do this when you're alone." Rikuo smiled and pulled her toward him. In other cases, she would've yelled at him for pulling her like that, but he genuinely seemed like he wanted her there with him. She stood next to Rikuo as he spoke to his father.

"It's good to see that you get visitors," he said noticing the flowers and the note that stood fresh on the grave. "I see what you wanted me to see in this town dad. Hanyou Village, a place where humans and yokai live together… Thank you dad."

Rikuo stepped back, closing his eyes before the grave, feeling the wind flow through his hair. The duo was silent and the moon was still bright in the sky when Rikuo opened his eyes. "Are you ready to go Yura?" he asked.

"Rikuo," Yura replied, with a question of her own, "why did you bring me here?"

Rikuo smiled and brought the onmyouji closer to him, almost as in a hug. "I knew that you'd be most excited by this as me."

"Why was that?" she said struggling in his arms.

"Because, you still can't come to terms as to why I am a good yokai," he said with a smirk.

"It's because you are Rikuo Nura; that is how I know you are good."

"And also," he said bringing her closer to him, "my mom said that the yokai and human are connected…"

"Connected by what?" Yura had closed her eyes now, looking away from Rikuo's alluring gaze.

"Love Yura, and I wanted you to share that with me." She stared at him, stopping in her struggles for a moment. Rikuo took that as his chance to steal the onmyouji's lips. He smirked in the kiss waiting for the moment she would push him off.

It took only a few minutes for Yura to recover from the shock of the kiss, and push him off of her. "Love?" she said with a deep red blush. "Don't be stupid." She started to walk away from Rikuo as he remained where he was, still smirking at Yura.

-O-

Wakana sat in the kitchen with her father-in-law, drinking tea. "Why was Kurotabou among the yokai that went with Rikuo? I thought Rikuo wanted to go alone."

Wakana smiled. "It wasn't for Rikuo that he went to that village dad; it was for someone else."

"Someone else…? Like who?" Nurarihyon looked at his daughter-in-law, eyeing her as Rikuo had done when he saw her approaching his friends when he had left the room the other night.

"Oh just something I noticed, but either way, we should go outside, I think they are back." Wakana walked outside greeting her son and his party. "How did everyone enjoy the village?" she asked curiously.

Neither of the humans had said anything, and all but one of them was smiling, which meant things went well. "It was great mom, and we'd love to visit it again in the near future…" Rikuo stopped and looked at Yura, smiling at her. "Isn't that right Yura?"

She blushed and pushed Rikuo away from her. "Bye," she said to everybody around her, excluding Rikuo, "I am off." The Paranormal Patrol went their respective ways as well, waving goodbye to everybody who was present at the time of their departure.

"Bye Kurotabou," said Torii. Kuro hadn't said a word, but he did tip his hat a bit. She grinned widely, running to Maki who was waiting at the end of the road for her.

Rikuo began to walk to his room, when his mom stopped him for the final time. "So I take it things went smoothly?"

Rikuo was confused by her statement. "What do you mean?"

Wakana laughed as she left him alone, something completely out of her character. "Hanyou Village is a special place Rikuo, never forget that."

-X-

A/N: Hello again. I just want to put out that I really had a hard time with both the thank you speeches by Rikuo and Kiyotsugu, and I'm sorry if it didn't invoke any emotion… same with Tsurara and Shima; I have to work on that part of my writing. But any who, loved the Kuro x Torii scene and of course I always have to have a Rikuo x Yura scene too. It was fun to change Wakana's character a bit; to me, she seems to have a bit of a conniving woman inside her, but who knows…


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